Door check and hold open



Jan. 1, 1952 N. E. PUTNAM 2,580,593

DOOR CHECK AND HOLD OPEN Filed June 17, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 (Hi/17a P/h Ceni r INVENTOR. A/e/son E. u ZmQfl M,wZ Mm/ A tforneq 1952 N. E. PUTNAM 2,580,593

DOOR CHECK AND HOLD OPEN Filed June 17, 1949 2 SI'IEETHHEET 2 INVENTOR. A/e /son 5 Puzmon BY I Atlorneqs.

Patented Jan. 1, 1952 UNITED STATES PATEN OFFICE noon orifiok ANii iioilli OPEN Nelson E. Putnam Grosse lie, Midi, assigiioi to General Motors Corporation; Detroit, Micli.',- a

corporation of Delaware Afijflfciitiofi Jim- 17, 1949', Serial No. 99,704

Cla'hns. y p 1 invention relatesto door checks and holdo ens; It has been found in present day aiito mobiles that it is desirable to have not only a cushioned door check but also a; door counterbalance and hold-open. That is a device-which, after the door is unlatche'd, tends to" either counterbalance or open the door', definitely prevent the door from swinging shut until man-daily pulled and provide a cushioned check when throwing the door open. This is desirable on account of the inclined hinged heavy doors'that are now in use. It is desirable to counterbalance the natural 'closi'ng' action or the door from the closed position to nearly the normal open' posi 1510b The present invention is an-i'mprovernentmr variation on the door cheol-r and hold=open shown and described in Reissue Patent Nor Re. 23 ,191 to Riley et a1, dated January: 17,- 1950. It accomplishes the same purpose; accomplished by the Riley door check and hold-open but it is sedesigned thaltit eliminates the rubber bum er of the Riley device and utilizes one" type spring for three functions, (1) to-tend to open or counter: balance the door once it is Unlatche'd, (2) to hold the door at its open position and (3) to' provide a; cushioned check when the door is-thr'own to its fully open position;

Referring to the drawings:

Fig.- 1 is a' cross section through part of the door and the body pillar showing a plan' view' or at top elevation of the improved door check and ho1d-open. Here the door is shown closed andthe door check in its folded position.

Fig". 2 is an inverted section on tlie line'=2---2 of Fig: 1'.

- Fig. 3 is' a frag-mentary' sectionalview on the line 3-3 of Fig: r. p

Fig; 4 is a detailed perspective of the main pivot pin between one of the toggle-arms and thelever-Z Figt 5 is a detailedview ofthe' lever.

Fig.6 is a v-iew similar to Fig. 1- but showing the dentin its full" hold-open position. I i

Fig. 'I is; a similar View showing the" door and the doorcheck and hold-open thrown toth'e' fulles't'open positioni x I designates the body pillar', 2 the door, 3 is the angle bracket secured to thebody pillar by screws and nuts 4. 5 designates an angle bracket secured by screws and nuts 6 to the inside panel of the door. The toggle arm I is pivotedby pin arranged to take the key l'sflrsee Figs; 2 and 4"). Toggle arm" 9 is made upof twost'rip's that are riveted together by the' pin l4. These strips are spaced at their ends to form yoke r'ner'nbers; one, the yoke 15, straddles the toggle arm t at the knee, and the other the yoke I Q, straddles the pin- 11 which carries the key [3; The yoke F6 has turned up ears 32 to centralize and minirriize friction between the coils of spring 20 This main pivot pin [1 pivots the to'gglearrn 9- to lever N. This lever H is biv'oted b'ypin I 8 to the yoke I 9' formed by the door angle bracket 5'5. Each Clock 01* Spiral spring 20 has one end 2| Hooked mm one of the 'slots' 22 of the" pin H Theothr end 2'3 is hooked over th tifitid up liig 2 of the toggle al ffi- 9. There dramadr these c1601: springs (see Fig. 2"). Lever H a stop shoulder 25 adapted to encounter shoulder 26 on the door angle} bracket 5. y

The operation is as follows: Whenthe dooris closed asshown' inFig. 1 the clock- Springs 20 are put' under considerable stress The toggle arins' T and 9 are folded to a position Slightly lessthain a right angular position: The clock springs are Woi'md 1-84". The door, in" the position Shawn Fig. 6' has opened 56 and the clock' springs have been unwound to 140?. When the door check and hold-open is installed, the clock springs are put under aqwind-upstres's ruesome-1115140 as shown Fig; 6 The 140 is found to be aidesirable stress to counterbalance the door qrr which this check and holdopen isdesig'ned to'b'ef used. Different degrees of wind-up willbe used with different doors", The wind up: or stresspf'" 40 is in the'whole length of the spring. s the door is closed tothe'pos'ition shown in- Fig; the toggle arms fold up approximately f While" the spring has been wound up only 44* sirioe the spring center is mounted in a slot 22 of the st'a' tionary pin I1 and outer end is hooli'ed over lfug 24" which rotates ap roximately 44f" in relation to' th'e door. While thes'pring isbe'ing woiifidup approximately 90"" at itsouter end" in passing? fromthe" pb'sitibnshow'rf iIfFigl 6 totha'tshown i'lf'i 1, it is being unwou d ao rbx mately at the inner and (compare Fig. (i andfFigh 1) Hem-e the rota-11 winc -upis 44; that is', from Fig; 6=to mr mrrg. 1. 4 l I l The wind upf or-fl140 injthe finll hd ld oper'r position is ordinarily so" calculated as to exert through" the toggle considerably more energy than necessary to-counterba1ancethe door'toprevent the: door from swinging" closed by it's effort; The variations of the spring l'o'ad' acting" on thetoggwar'ms F and 9 mm 184 of wind-up 3 in the closed position to 140 of wind-up in the hold-open position aid in opening the door to the full open position and tend to prevent the door from swinging closed from any open position after it has been given an initial swing from the unlatched position.

From the position of the door check and holdopen parts in Fig. 1, it will be seen that the stop 25 on lever II is up against stop 26 on the door bracket. It is held in thi position by the spring stress operating on the lever ll through the key [3 of pin I1. As the door swing open, even though the springs unwind approximately 44, there is still sufiicient spring load to keep the two stops together, see Fig. 6, butwhen the toggle arms reach the near straight line or center line position shown in Fig. 6, the stop 21 on the extended end of toggle arm I engages the stop 28 on the other toggle arm 9 and the toggle arms cannot throw beyond this near straight line position and are now locked. In other words, they cannot throw over center. This is the full holdopen position shown in Fig. 6.

If the door is thrown open witnconsiderable force or violence, the stops 25 and 26 can separate 10 as shown in Fig. '7 and the spring will be wound up from the inner end as shown in Fig. '7. The stops 29 and 30 are so spaced as to allow 10 movement (Fig. 6). Hence, the spring load increasing from additional wind-up of the inner end tends to prevent the checking toggle (now the second toggle set up) from straightening out. This checking toggle is composed of arms 1 and 9 as one member and lever l l as the other member. The resistance of this toggle against straightening out, due to increasing spring load, cushions the impact of the door movement and the door is finally arrested when the positive stop 29 on lever I l encounters the stop 30 on the door angle bracket 5.

It will be seen, therefore, that a single clock spring serves three functions, first as a counterbalance, second to load a toggle for a hold open, and third for loading a second toggle acting as a check. When the door is unlatched the spring is under considerable stress, however, due to the folded position of toggle arms I and 9 and the spring is least effective. As the toggle arms gradually straighten out the spring load becomes more effective, due to the mechanical advantage gained. The spring is still under considerable stress, when the door is in its fully open position and most effective on the toggle to keep the door in this position. The third function which is completely novel is that of loading another toggle and serving to cushion and ease the final check of the door, when the door is thrown open by violence and passes beyond the fully hold-open position.

What I claim is:

1. A door check and hold-open having in combination a bracket for securing to the body pillar, a bracket for fastening to the door, a pair of toggle arms pivoted to each other and one of them pivoted-to one of said brackets, a lever pivoted to the other bracket and to the end of the other toggle arm, said arms being disposed at an acute angle to each other when the door is closed, a stop on one of the toggle arms for stopping the unfolding and straightening of the toggle arms during the opening of the door at a position just short of the straight line or longitudinally aligned position thereof corresponding to the fully open position of the door whereby said arms are locked together and thereby constitute one member of a second toggle, said lever constituting the other member of said second toggle, a pair of stops or shoulders, one on the lever, a clock spring having one end applied to the lever and the other end applied to one of said toggle arms and put under stress when the check is applied to the door and operating to hold the two said stops together and thereby tending to counterbalance the tendency of the door to swing closed, the said spring unwinding and diminishing in torque but acting through the primary toggle with a mechanical advantage upon the door as the door is thrown to the fully open position but still providing stress on the door to keep the same in the fully open position, and a second pair of stops, one on the lever, said second stops so spaced as to allow the lever a limited arc of movement with the two locked toggle arms to thereby provide a second toggle straightening action which can be resisted by one end of the clock spring tending to wind up said clock spring and thereby cushion the impact when the door is thrown beyond the fully open position.

2. A door check and hold-open having in combination a bracket for securing to the body pillar, a bracket for fastening to the door, a pair of toggle arms pivoted to each other and one of them pivoted to one of said brackets, a lever pivoted to the other bracket and to the end of the other toggle arm, said arms being disposed at an acute angle to each other when the door is closed, a stop on one of the toggle arms for stopping the unfolding and straighteningof the toggle arms during the opening of the door at a position just short of the straight line or longitudinally aligned position thereof corresponding to the fully open position of the door whereby.

said arms are locked together and thereby constitute one member of a second toggle, said lever constituting the other member of said second toggle, a pair'of stops or shoulders, one on the lever, a spring having one end applied to the lever and the other end applied to one of said toggle arms and put under stress when the check is applied to the door and operating to hold the two said stops together and thereby tending to, counterbalance the tendencyof the door to swing closed, the said spring diminishing in torque but acting through the primary toggle with mechanical advantage upon the door as the door is thrown to the fully open position but still providing stress on the door to keep the same in the fully open position, and a second pair of stops, one on the lever, said second stops so spaced as to allow the lover a limited arc of movement with the two locked toggle arms to thereby provide a second toggle straightening action which can be resisted by the inner end of the spring and thereby cushion the impact when the door is thrown beyond the fully open position. a

3. A door check and hold-open having in com bination a bracket for securing to the body pillar, a bracket for fastening to the door, a pair of toggle arms pivoted to each other and one of them pivoted to one of said brackets, a lever pivoted to the other bracket and to the end of the other toggle arm, said arms being disposed at an acute angle to each other when the door is closed, a stop on one of the toggle arm ;for

stopping the unfolding and straightening of the toggle arms during the opening of the door at a position just short of the straight line or longitudinally aligned position thereof corresponding to the fully open position of the door whereby said arms are locked together and thereby con stitute one member of a second toggle, said lever constituting the other member of said second toggle, a pair of stops or shoulders, one on the lever, a clock spring having one end applied to the lever and the other end applied to one of said toggle arms and put under stress when the check is applied to the door and operating to hold the two said stops together and thereby tending to counterbalance the tendency of the door to swing closed, the said Spring unwinding and diminishing in torque but acting through the primary toggle with a mechanical advantage upon the door as the door is thrown to the fully open position but still providing stress on the door to keep the same in the fully open position, and a second pair of stops, one on the lever, said second stops so spaced as to allow the lever movement with the two locked toggle arms of an approximately 10 swing which can be resisted by one end of the clock spring tending to wind up said clock spring and thereby cushion the impact when the door is thrown beyond the fully open position.

4. A door check and hold-open having in combination a bracket for securing to the body pillar, a bracket for fastening to the door, a pair of toggle arms pivoted to each other and one of them pivoted to one of said brackets, a lever pivoted to the other bracket and to the end of the other toggle arm, said arms being disposed at an acute angle to each other when the door is closed, a stop on one of the toggle arms for stopping the unfolding and straightening of the toggle arms during the opening of the door at a position just short of the straight line or longitudinally aligned position thereof corresponding to the fully open position of the door whereby said arms are locked together and thereby constitute one member of a second toggle, said lever constituting the other member of said second toggle, a pair of stops or shoulders, one on the lever, a spring having one end applied to the lever and the other end applied to one of said toggle arm and put under stress when the check is applied to the door and operating to hold the two said stops together and thereby tending to counterbalance the tendency of the door to Swing closed, the said spring diminishing in torque but acting through the primary toggle with a mechanical advantage upon the door as the door is thrown to the fully open position but still providing stress on the door to keep the same in the fully open position, and a second pair of stops, one on the lever, said second stops so spaced as to allow the lever movement with the two locked toggle arms of an approximately 10 swing which can be resisted by one end of the spring and thereby cushion the impact when the door is thrown beyond the fully open position.

5. A door check and hold-open having in combination a bracket for securing to the body pillar, a bracket for fastening to the door, a pair of toggle arms pivoted to each other and one of them pivoted to one of said brackets, a lever pivoted to the other bracket and to the end of the other toggle arm, said arms being disposed at an acute angle to each other when the door is closed, a stop for stopping the unfolding and straightening of the toggle arms during the opening of the door at a position just short of the straight line or longitudinally aligned position thereof corresponding to the fully open position of the door whereby said arms are locked together and thereby constitute one member of a second toggle, said lever constituting the other member of said second toggle, a pair of stops or shoulders, one on the lever, a spring having one end applied to the lever and the other end applied to one of said toggle arms and put under stress when the check is applied to the door and operating to hold the two said stops together and thereby tending to counterbalance the tendency of the door to swing closed, the said spring diminishing in torque but acting through the primary toggle to give a mechanical advantage upon the door as the door is thrown to the fully open position but still providing stress on the door to keep the same in the fully open position, and a second pair of stops, one on the lever, said second stops so spaced as to allow the lever a limited arc of movement with the two locked toggle arms to thereby provide a second toggle straightening action which can be resisted by one end of the spring and thereby cushion the impact when the door is thrown beyond the fully open position, the said lever having two shoulders to form the said two stops on the lever and the door bracket having two shoulders to form the other two said stops to limit the independent swing of the said lever.

NELSON E. PUTNAM.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Riley et a1 Jan. 17, 1950 Number Re. 23,191 

